Footwear



L. J. GOLDEN June 13, 1939.

FOOTWEAR Filed Nov. 14, 1955 INVENTOR.

Patented June 13,1939 I j 2 1 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOOTWEAR.

Louis J. Golden, Highland Park, Ill., assignor to B and B Shoe Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 14, 1935, Serial No. 49;743

4 Claims. (CI. 36-45) This invention relates in general to a new and Figure 4. These pieces are attached to the sole by improved article of footwear and the method of seaming them along the line 5, as shown in Figmaking the same, and more particularly relates ure 2, between the component parts of the sole to an article of infants footwear. member. The upp Pieces Of e S 5 It is an object of this invention to provide an are seamed together along the seam lines 6 and l,

' article of footwear of more simple and economical as shown in Figure 2, and 8, as shown in Figure 1.

construction, In cutting out the upper-forming pieces the vamp- It is another object of this invention to provide forming piece 2 is prepared to receive a closure an article of footwear for infant use which is more member, such as a button for instance, at 9, as

10 sanitary. shown in Figure 5. Similarly the instep-forming It is another object of this invention to provide piece is prepared to r v a plurality of I l re an article of footwear which is easier to put on. m p ferably a button and buttonhole, at II] It is another object of this invention to provide and I I respectively- Si a y the ppe g an article of footwear which has overlapping flaps piece 4 is p p d t receive sur m s, i place of l s, preferably a button I1, and buttonholes, at I2 and 15 It is another object of this invention to provide When the Pieces forming the pp 0f h an article of footwear having new and improved Shoe are Stitched together an entire e pp closure means. will be formed.

Numerous other obj ct d advantages ill It has been found desirable to assemble the more fully appear during the course and progress three p rn pieces into a mp hoe 20 of the following cifi ti upper first and then, subsequently, assemble the Figure 1 is a perspective View of a preferred p r W th e Sole-forming ber l to make embodiment of the present invention showing one the Complete Shee- It has also been found P side of the embodiment, able to incorporate with the sole-forming member 5 Figure 2 is a perspective View of the preferred a counter-portion 14, as shown in ure 4. This 2 embodiment, shown in Figure 1, showing the counter-portion is se ed to h pp r-f m reserve i of t t embodiment member along the seam line l5. It has been Figure 3 is a perspective view of th b ifound possible in making extremely inexpensive m nt, shown i Figure 1, Showing t Closure shoes to omit this counter-portion; however, it is means in opened positi thought preferable to include this in the shoe to 30 Figure 41 a cut-away View of the embodiment, give structure to the heel part thereof. The shown in Figures 1 and 3, showing the internal counter-portion may be formed with the upper nstru ti of t embodiment and then attached to the sole. When the whole Figure 5 i a plan i of t vamp formin shoe is assembled the closure means may be appiece used in the embodiment, shown in Figure 1, plied to by completing the for of the 35 showing the pattern of said piece. buttonhole I l in the instep portion 3, as shown in Figure 6 is a plan view of the instep piece in the figure applying button t0 the Vamp-fermembodiment, shown i Figure 1 mg portlon 2. Two buttonholes l2 and I3 and a Figure 7 is a m View of the upper fom1ing button are respectively applied to the upperpiece of the embodim t Shown in Figure 1, forming member, the button being situated in the 4 showing the pattern of said piece. position s indicated in es 3 and 7. Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view of t three In making ashoeupper in accordance with the pieces Shown in Figures 5 6 and 7 respectively present invention it is also possible to prepare showing those pieces in form for assembly into the 11mm? members so a to form a lined Shoe t0 complete upper portion dashoa provide eyelet facing or top facing dependent 45 The preferred embodiment Shown in Figure 1 upon how finished an article of manufacture is comprises a Sole portion I a vamp forming desired. In the embodiment shown in the drawf material l8 in the form of a relation 2, an instep portion 3 and an upper-forming 9 plece 0 portion 4' The Shoe is made by preparing a sole tively narrow band is cut out and mounted on the inner surface of the upper-forming portion conportion in the usual fashion. Then three upperti uous with the to forming pieces are cut from a flat piece of mateg p edge thereof as clearly Shown in Figure 4. In the embodiment shown the strip rial. th se pleees e the vempffenhlng pleee of material 18 may be sewn in place on the inner shown in Flgure t t p-f e p e s wn surface of theupper-forming member 4, as shown in Figure 6 and the upper-forminga'piece shownin in Figure 4. -If desired, the upper-edge of the 55 top-forming portion 4, including the band of material I8, may be folded over to provide a finished top edge for the shoe. It is possible to retain this top edge in folded over position by use under certain conditions.

means of sewing, gluing, or in some cases even by simple folding. The dotted line in Figure 7 represents the relative position of the lower edge of the strip l8 when operatively mounted upon the upper blank 4. I

The shape or pattern for the three upperforming pieces 2, 3 and 4 respectively, may be increased or decreased in size respectively so as to provide varying sizes of shoes for different sizes of feet. Furthermore other closure means than a button and buttonhole arrangement may be employed. Thus a male portion of a snap fastener may be substituted for the button 16, for instance, in which case a female portion of a snap fastener may be substituted for the buttonhole II. It is also possible to use hook fasteners instead of a button and buttonhole although for infants" shoes this is not though particularly desirable.

When a shoe made in accordance with the present invention is finished it will be found that it may be closed by bringing the buttonhole ll over into engagement with the button IS. The flap portion of the upper-forming piece 4 will then be brought to externally overlie the flap portion 2| of the instep-forming piece 3 and the buttonhole i2 brought into engagement with the button. N). Then the top flap portion 22 of the upper-forming piece will be brought around to overlie the top of the flap portion 2| of the instep-forming portion 3 and at the same time overlie the upper part of the flap portion 20 on the upper-forming portion 4 so that the buttonhole [3 may be brought into engagement with the button ll, thus closing the shoeand securing it on a foot.

A shoe made in accordance with the present invention will be found to be extremely simple in construction and manufacture and has, therefore, all the attendant advantages of economy, quick manufacture and low cost. In addition to this a shoe made in accordance with the present invention will be found to fit'the'curvature of a normal foot and, particularly, the curvature of a babys foot with unusual exactness. This exactness of fit results in part from the fact that the seam lines coincide largely with the lines along which size variations in feet occur so that any stretching or forming of the shoe during the course of wear takes place much more readily than in shoes of orthodox construction which have seam lines so arranged that the shoe is much more rigid and resistant to the stresses which tend to conform the shoe to the shape of the foot. A shoe made in accordance with the present invention is also more comfortable by reason of the fact that there is no seam running vertically up the back or heel portion of the shoe and no seam running across the vamp portion of the shoe.

A shoe made in accordance with the present invention furthermore is particularly suitable for For instance, the shoe may be made with a heavier sole in which an arch-forming member is placed and a heel applied to the sole in constructing a shoe for adults in accordance with the present invention. The shoe thus formed by reason of the overlapping character of the closure area thereof presents a water-resisting construction in the sense that if water is spilled from above down on the upper of the shoe it will run downwardly over the.

overlapping flap portions and be directed off of the shoe rather than be caught in the lace portion and directed into the shoe as is true of shoes of customary lace construction. This feature results in a very sanitary type of footwear when used for infants shoes for the reason that any fluids precipitated upon the top of the shoe will be similarly disposed of rather than permitted to enter the shoe and cause rotting of the lining and inside thereof.

It has also been discovered that a variety of unusually decorative effects in infants footwear can be achieved as a result of the present invention. Thus, for instance, the Vamp-forming portion 2 and the upper-forming portion 4 may be made of patent leather while the instep-forming portion 3 is made of gunmetal or kid. Similarly the various pieces may be made in different c01- ors whereby to provide various novel shoe designs. Similarly various materials other than leather may be used, such as canvas and fabrics. Furthermore it has been found possible to make a shoe with a higher top by adding successive bands of material around the top of the upper member, extending the upper member further upward away from the heel of the shoe so that the top of the shoe will encase the leg further above the ankle. This increase in height of the shoe may also be accomplished to a limited extent by extending the size of the upper-forming piece shown in Figure 7. It should also be noted that shoe uppers made in accordance with the present invention can be applied to sole members in forming the entire shoe either by the welt, turn or out-sole methods.

It is thought that the invention and numerous of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of its attendant advantages, the form herein described being a preferred embodiment for the purpose of illustrating the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A shoe comprising a vamp, a quarter piece secured to the vamp along an upstanding side.

' tening means to join opposite sides of said quarter piece.

2. In a shoe, a vamp, a quarter piece secured to the vamp at one side of the shoe, and an instep piece upon the opposite side interposed between the quarter piece and the vamp and secured to the quarter piece by a generally upwardly extending seam, the shoe being of the type wherein the upper has free edges extending upwardly above the vicinity of the instep portion and said edges being adapted to be releasably secured together to fasten the shoe on the foot, the upper endsof said seamed pieces adjacent the seam providing-one of said free edges and being adapted to extend over the vicinity of the instep and beyond the opposite free edge of the upper, said opposite free edge of the upper being provided by an opposed, substantially upstanding edge of the quarter piece, the upper ends of the quarter piece and instep piece adjacent the seam being continued beyond the end of the seam to provide separate flaps, said quarter piece flap extending over the opposite free edge of the quarter and the instep flap extending underneath the opposite free edge of the quarter, said flaps and opposed quarter having means thereon for releasably securing the members together in the said position.

3. In a shoe, a vamp, a quarter piece secured to the vamp at one side of the shoe, and an instep piece upon the opposite side interposed between the quarter piece and the vamp, the edge of the quarter piece being raised above the adjacent edge of the instep piece and secured thereto by a generally upwardly extending seam, the shoe being of the type wherein the upper has free edges extending upwardly above the vicinity of the instep portion and adapted to be releasably secured together to fasten the shoe on the foot, the upper ends of said seamed pieces adjacent the seam providing one of said free edges and being adapted to extend over the vicinity of the instep and beyond the opposite free edge of the upper, said opposite free edge of the upper being provided by an opposed, substantially upstanding edge of the quarter piece, the upper ends of the quarter piece and instep piece adjacent the seam being continued beyond the end of the seam to provide separate flaps with a slit therebetween, said quarter piece flap extending over the opposite free edge of the quarter and the instep flap extending underneath the opposite free edge of the quarter with the end of the seam adjacent said opposite free edge, said flaps and opposed quarter having means thereon for releasably securing the members together in the said position.

4. In a shoe, a vamp, a quarter piece secured to the vamp at one side of the shoe, and an instep piece upon the opposite side interposed between the quarter piece and the vamp and secured to the quarter piece by a generally upwardly extending seam, the shoe being of the type wherein the upper has free edges extending upwardly above the vicinity of the instep portion and adapted to be releasably secured together to fasten the shoe on the foot, the upper ends of said seamed pieces adjacent the seam providing one of said free edges and being adapted to extend over the vicinity of the instep and beyond the opposite free edge of the upper, said opposite free edge of the upper being providedv by an opposed, substantially upstanding edge of the quarter piece, the upper ends of the quarter piece and instep piece adjacent the seam being continued beyond the end of the seam to provide separate flaps, said quarter piece flap extending over the opposite free edge of the quarter and the instep flap extending underneath the opposite free edge of the quarter, a flap on the vamp adjacent said opposite free edge of the quarter, the instep flap in said position extending above the vamp flap, said flaps and opposed quarter having means thereon for releasably securing the overlapping members together in the said position.

LOUIS J. GOLDEN. 

